


I will run you the sickest bubble bath and have you in bed at 6 p.m.

by Findus26



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Breakfast in Bed, Bubble Bath, Depressed Dan Howell, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Winnie-the-Pooh References, or is it?!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 06:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Findus26/pseuds/Findus26
Summary: Dan is having a depressive episode and Phil does his best to cheer him up.Featuring: breakfast, bubbles, and a very special book.*Originally posted as part of my "100 ways to say I love you"-Writing Challenge, but I like it, so it gets its own place in the spotlight ;)*Title taken from "Daniel and Depression"





	I will run you the sickest bubble bath and have you in bed at 6 p.m.

**Author's Note:**

> TW: this chapter deals with depression and although it doesn't go too deep into self-hatred, etc... be cautious reading this if you get affected by things like that. Thank you :)

### Chapter Text

As soon as Dan woke up, he could just tell it was 'one of those days' again. He'd really hoped to feel better after the flop of a day that yesterday was. He grunted in frustration, tossing and turning from one side to the other aggressively in an attempt to get motivated to get up (as if he didn't know that it wasn't going to work). He looked at the alarm clock to his right and realized it was 12:30 already. Great, he'd slept through the first half of the day...

He could hear Phil rummaging in the kitchen, being the functional human he is, while Dan couldn't even get himself motivated enough to get breakfast. The small part of his brain that was reserved to logical thinking – even in times like this – knew he had to get up to eat eventually.

He'd spent most of yesterday in bed as well, only getting up twice to pee and taking one trip to the kitchen picking up a bottle of water and some snacks so he wouldn't have to move again. He spent all day laying in bed, contemplating life and – more importantly – death: his slow decay and the general nothingness that is his life, interrupted in his thoughts only when Phil knocked on the door to check if he was okay, to which he of course replied that he was. He knew that he hadn't been very convincing and that Phil didn't believe him, but after a few insistent “Fuck off”s from Dan, Phil did eventually leave, closing the door on his way out and looking slightly hurt.

Dan still felt bad about it, but not enough to actually move, go to Phil and apologize or basically do anything. He might as well embrace the useless piece of shit that was his existence and stay where he was.

Dan didn't know how long exactly it had been when he heard another knock on the door, just like yesterday.

“Dan? Are you awake?” he could hear Phil's slightly shaky voice muffled by the wooden door seperating them. Unable to produce actual words, Dan just made a noise that would somehow imply that he was.

“Can I come in?” Phil asked, this time only waiting for a few seconds, as if he didn't even expect an answer, before pushing the door open, a tray in his hands.

After Dan was over being impressed how Phil managed to open the door with his elbow without spilling everything he was holding onto the carpet, he turned around, head now facing the pillow and mumbled “What are you doing here?” into his pillow, which was probably barely audible to Phil.

“Well” Phil replied nonetheless, “You didn't really get out of bed all of yesterday and just seemed in a... mood. So I made you breakfast.”

Breakfast was the understatement of the century. On the tray that Phil had now settled onto Dan's night stand was a plate of freshly made waffles, a bowl of fruit salad and a glass of what appeared to be freshly pressed orange juice.

“'m not hungry” Dan simply said, resting his head back on the pillow.

“I know you aren't” Phil said in a soft voice, “But you didn't eat at all yesterday. At least nothing that could count as food. Plus, I just spent about an hour in the kitchen, we are not letting this go to waste.” So Phil plonked himself onto the bed next to Dan, reaching for the remote and switching on the TV, zapping through the channels until he found a documentary about whales.

It was moments like these that Dan realized how on-brand-ly amazing Phil actually was. He didn't force Dan to 'talk about his feelings' or 'smile a little'. It was these moments of co-existing, not saying a word while Dan slowly sat up in bed, reaching for the glass of orange juice, that helped him more than Phil would probably ever know.

Dan had finished his waffles (which were absolutely great) and his fruit salad (surprisingly tasty considering how healthy it was) a while ago and the wildlife documentaries had switched from whales to big cats in Africa when Phil turned around to face Dan again.

“How are you feeling?”

“I've been better, but breakfast helped, actually, so thank you for that.”

Phil smiled. “You're very welcome, but as today is national make-Dan-feel-better day, the next activity on our agenda will start in just a few minutes. I'll be right back, okay?”

Before Dan could object, Phil got up, took the tray back into the kitchen and wasn't seen again for a good 15 minutes.  
It was almost 3 pm now and Dan wondered where the time went, feeling his mood cloud again now that Phil was gone. Just before he could get himself back into a spiral of negative thinking, Phil appeared back in the door frame, holding a bathrobe in his hand.

“I ran you a bubble bath, thought maybe you could use some relaxation. Just stay in there for as long as you want to and call me if you need anything, I'll be close by.” Dan took the robe out of Phil's hands, simply uttering a short “Thanks” before walking towards the bathroom, as he didn't really know what else to say.

Scented candles were the only thing illuminating the bathroom, soft music was playing in the background and the world's greatest looking bubble bath was waiting for Dan. He could feel himself relax as he got into the bath, the warm water surrounding and comforting him. It felt like finally being able to let out a breath he had been holding for the last couple of days.

The wonderful, warm feeling lasted for all of five minutes before his stupid brain interrupted him again. So there he was, supposed to relax, the environment a perfect one to be happy in... and still, those demons in his head just wouldn't shut up. Well, if that wasn't the story of his life. On bad days like this one, there was only one thing that could make it better.

“Phil?” he heard himself shout before he could rationally think about it.

Almost instantly, Phil was there, a worried expression on his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah” Dan quickly replied, a lie he had so often stated that he even believed himself on most days, “it's nothing, nevermind.”

Phil just smiled, catching Dan's lie, but feeling no need to comment on it. “Do you want me to stay here with you?” he asked instead.

“How do you know me so well?” Dan said, nodding to answer Phil's previous question.

“Well, I've had about 8 years of practice now, so that helps” the older man replied while sitting down on the closed toilet lid.

There'd been a time where Dan would have thought it was awkward to have Phil in the room while he was taking a bath, but those times were long gone. Lines were blurred by comfort and friendship, until they eventually didn't exist anymore and by now, they had reached a wonderful state of “whatever happens consensually is okay” which was probably the healthiest type of relationship they'd had since meeting in 2009. There was just something truly wonderful in the closeness between human beings, not necessarily (exclusively) romantic or sexual, that always brought Dan comfort when he was around Phil.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Phil asked shyly, a little unsure of whether this was the right time.

“I don't really know what to talk about. It's just... one of those times. Maybe it's the meds, I'll check with my therapist when I see her on Thursday.”

Phil nodded. “Yeah, that's probably a good idea.”

“Phil? Can you tell me a story?” Dan cringed a little on the inside because honestly, that was a pretty fucking awkward question to ask your best friend, who's sitting on the toilet watching you take a bath. Phil, however, didn't even blink at the question. Instead, his eyes lit up and he jumped up from the toilet seat, shouting a quick “I'll be right back” before disappearing out of sight.

He was back almost immediately, holding on tightly to a book in his hands, which seemed to be rather old and run-down. You couldn't even read the letters on the side anymore and the plain green cover didn't give anything away either. Phil sat back down, this time on the floor next to Dan, using a towel as a cushion. He opened the book and started reading:

“HERE is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump” Dan's eyes opened wide in shock of hearing the first lines of his favourite childhood book come to life in the voice of his best friend.

“How... How did you...?” Dan tried to ask.

Phil smiled at him and put a finger up to his own mouth. “Shhh...” After a few seconds, he added: “A yard sale I went to a while ago, just thought this might come in handy one day... Anyway, where was I?" He didn't wait for Dan to comment, although Dan felt like he had a whole lot to say right now. "Oh, right: Bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs...”

Dan closed his eyes then, enjoying his favourite person reading his favourite book to him, a smile creeping up to his cheeks and a warm, fuzzy feeling starting to spread in his tummy.

It was quite a while later, Dan's skin had gone wrinkly (by the bath water, not old age... he wasn't in the bath that long... or at least that's what he hoped, he'd lost all sense of time). The water was getting cold, but Dan just didn't want to get up.

“One more chapter?” he asked Phil, who was about to close the book. The older man chuckled quietly.

“You've been in there for ages. The water must be cold by now and if you get any more wrinkly, people will start mistaking you for me.” He paused, Dan didn't seem convinced yet. “Plus, all the bubbles have sort of disappeared by now” Phil laughed, his tongue peeking out between his teeth as Dan felt heat rise to his cheeks, probably making him blush notibly.  
“So how's about this:” Phil added “You get out of the bath, put on the cosiest of PJs and I'll make you a tea and meet you in your bed in 10?”

“Phil Lester, you are an actual angel” Dan said, propping himself up in the bathtub as the mentioned left the room.

Dan was already tucked up in bed when Phil came in ten minutes later, a steaming mug in one hand, a hot water bottle and the book in the other. He handed both the tea and the hot water bottle to Dan before moving to the other side of the bed. Phil sat up against the headboard of the bed and Dan moved closer to cuddle against his side as Phil opened the book again and started reading again.

“Chapter Seven, in which Kanga and Baby Roo come to the forest, and Piglet has a bath.” He smiled down at Dan, “Now, if that isn't accurate, piglet DID just have a bath.” He chuckled as Dan nudged him in the side with his elbow, but didn't let that stop him from reading on. “Nobody seemed to know where they came from, but they were in the forest...”

It had gotten dark outside a long time ago and Dan felt sleepier by the minute, but everytime Phil would finish a chapter and check to see if Dan was still awake, the younger boy would mumble “One more chapter?” So Phil read one more chapter to him. And another one after that, and one last one after that until eventually, Dan's breath had evened out and his eyes weren't opening at the loss of sound anymore. Phil put the book down on the night stand, took off his glasses and slowly slid down until he was comfortably lying next to Dan, who was readjusting in his sleep to the new position by completely enveloping himself around Phil. Phil wiggled one arm free to switch off the lamp next to the bed and pressed a short kiss onto Dan's hair before drifting into the sweet dream world of Christopher Robin himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, let me know what you think :)


End file.
